Christmas Love American Style
by RiverCity
Summary: An early morning Christmas gift. Ric and Alexis


**Christmas Love American Style**

Christmas! A time for joy… celebration… fun and smiles; a time for new beginnings! Smiling she turned over to reach for him and found the chill of emptiness beside her.

"Ric?" she called softly rising reluctantly from the warmth surrounding her.

She heard him faintly answer from her bath. Pulling the sheet close around her unadorned body she slipped her feet to the floor and shuffled toward the sound of his voice. As she neared the door she heard the sound of running water. Stopping just inside the door she leaned against the wall and watched him a few moments before drawing his attention to her.

"Do you know what time it is?"

"Yes. It's early and you should still be in bed asleep." His gaze found her and he smiled at the sheet covering her toga style. Letting his eyes wander up and down his throat tightened as he tried to finish explaining his actions.

"Kristina will be up in a little while. It's my first Christmas with her. I don't want anything to get in the way of sharing every minute of it with her so I thought I'd start early and at least get shaved and showered before she bounced out of bed."

The sound of her feet crossing over to stand behind him was hidden by the sound of the sheet rustling around her. Wrapping her arms around his waist she leaned up to kiss him lightly just behind his ear.

"First, Kristina doesn't bounce out of bed. And second, it will be at least another two hours before she wakes. You pretty well took care of that when you took her to see Santa last night."

He turned to face her and kissed her nose. "Every little girl should have the opportunity to tell Santa what she wants for Christmas."

"Every little girl?" Alexis questioned with a voice that Ric knew was his alone.

Pulling her closer he dipped his head to find the curve of her shoulder where he deposited another soft kiss. "Yes." He whispered. "Every little girl."

"So, since I didn't get the chance to sit on Santa's lap this Christmas, I won't get what I want for Christmas?" She whispered as her lips found the curve of his jaw.

Lifting his hand he cupped the back of her head and tilted it to the side as his lips found her throat. The low hum from her throat tickled his lips as he nipped at her skin.

"I'm sure Santa wouldn't mind recruiting an extra helper at this late date. What do you say? Want to sit on my lap and tell me what you want for Christmas?"

He was stoking a fire that she wasn't ready for yet. Looking up her eyes sparkled with mischief as she reached behind him.

"Maybe later. First I think I would like to add another gift to the ones you already have under the tree."

A curious frown appeared on his face as he reached up to un-tuck the edge of the sheet that was holding it around her slender frame. "I can't imagine what kind of gift you could be referring to now that you've crushed me by not agreeing to sit on my lap and tell me what you desire most for Christmas."

Retrieving what she was looking for, Alexis looked back up at Ric when his eyes found what she held in her hand. The sparkle of light that suddenly appeared in his eyes told her he knew her intent.

"Should I sit down for this?" He asked huskily.

Reaching for his robe with her other hand she untied it and slid her hand up over his shoulder and then down his back taking the robe away from his body. Just before it began to fall to the floor she caught it and spread it across the counter. She smiled at the questioning look on his face.

"I wouldn't want you to get cold when you sit down."

"Ah." He replied as he lifted himself onto the counter and reached to pull her closer between his legs. "Have you ever done this before?"

"How hard can it be? I've become quite proficient with this particular task. How much difference could there be between your face and my legs?"

He chuckled. "That is a question that does not bring the subject of shaving to mind."

Her laughter caused the sheet she wore to do delectable things to his imagination. Reaching for her he leaned close to whisper softly into her ear. "I wouldn't want your sheet to get all messy," taking the mug from her hand and placing it on the counter beside him he very slowly began to peel the sheet away from her body. "why don't I just move it over here until we're done?"

Standing there between his legs, she knew she should have been chilled. But, the fire that was always just a touch away was quickly warming every inch of her. Retrieving the shaving mug she added a bit of water to the soap bar. She then reached for the shaving brush and filled its bristles with warm water before turning the faucet off. Placing the brush inside the mug she began a frantic motion to force the soap bar to produce an aromatic lather. When the brush was filled she looked back up into Ric's eyes. They were darker… smoldering… eating her alive with a hunger he never seemed to be able to satisfy.

"If you don't stop that, we won't get anywhere close to getting you shaved this morning."

"Stop what?"

"You know what."

"Tell me."

"Looking at me like that."

"Like what?"

He loved to tease her. Alexis was the most expressive person he had ever known, but when he teased her about the hunger that lay between them. The internal battle she fought in her mind played out across her face and it sent the never-ending river of lust for her deeper into the core of him. The desire to chastise him for his verbal assault on her already overheated senses fought the desire to give in and let him quench the volcanic lava that flowed through her own veins. It was a battle that they both won almost every time. There were those few occasions, however, that ended with Alexis getting the upper hand and leaving him with the sound of her chastisement still ringing in his ears regretfully. But, there was always a note of regret in her own voice as well. But this time; this time Ric wanted to hear the words that kept her shyly looking into the depths of the mug in her hand.

"How do I look at you, Alexis?"

She surprised him when she suddenly looked up with a satisfied smile on her face. "You look at me like you're 'Tom' the cat to my 'Jerry' the mouse ready to eat every morsel of my body left on the plate.

His laughter rang out loud and full. In the quiet of night it sounded thunderous in her ears and she quickly clapped her hand over his mouth as she tried to stifle her own laughter.

"Shhh. Ric you're going to wake Kristina."

He pulled her closer and buried his head in the curve of her shoulder, his lips finding her collarbone until he could stop the laughter that vibrated through him. Laughter that stilled instantly when he felt her finger find his ear! Laughter that turned into a sudden gasp of pleasure followed closely by a low growl!

"You can't keep doing that, Alexis." He groaned.

"Yes, I can." She grinned remembering the last time her finger found his ear. "And just to warn you… the next time you decide to embarrass me by whispering certain things in my ear while we're dining out in public… you just might get a little more than you bargained for, Mr. Let's See How Hot I Can Get Alexis in Public Lansing."

He laughed again as she poked him in the chest with her finger. "But, you have to admit that what I did was not nearly as public as what you did, Alexis Davis."

"Just tell that to the waiter who asked me if I needed a doctor when he saw my glowing red face. Now be quiet so I can get this little task out of the way."

"Little? Those are fighting words, Alexis. A man doesn't ever like to hear the word little used in any shape or form around him." He couldn't help himself. It was just too easy and so monumentally fun to see the well-dressed, dignified, reserved and highly intelligent Alexis Davis rendered mute as waves of mortifying discomfiture swept across her face. Only this time he didn't get the response he was waiting for. This time Alexis took matters into her own hand and reached up to pull his head down to her. When her lips took possession of his, any thought of teasing Alexis went out of his head. There was no room for anything outside of what Alexis could accomplish with a simple kiss. A kiss from Alexis was more than a kiss. It was a holiday… a journey around the world… it was reaching up to make sure your heart was still in place once she released you from her hold. It was wanting never to be left outside in the cold again, nose pressed against the chill of a window as a fire danced gaily in the hearth. He followed when she began to pull away and the moment her lips left his, his heart fell into his stomach and lungs that were blazing began to desperately pull it back into place. Opening his eyes, he fell into hers. 

"Okay, I give."

"I thought you might. Now are you ready?"

"Yes." He returned with a raspy voice.

She looked at him a moment longer and her face softened as a smile suddenly began to appear. "I don't ever want to lose that between us."

He knew what she was referring to. Neither one of them ever wanted to lose the bond they shared over a simple kiss. The intimacy they shared in just a single kiss was more than either of them had found in a lifetime of intimacies with the other people they once shared time with. "I don't want to lose it either, Alexis. It's too much a part of who we are together."

He watched her nod and she looked down at the mug in her hand again and began to re-lather the brush. When she looked back up, her eyes were misty and reaching for her Ric placed his hand at the back of her neck and pulled her closer. He kissed each eye and then found her lips briefly once more before pulling back and smiling at her.

Lifting the lathered brush, Alexis began to meticulously cover Ric's face with the frothy lather. The aroma of the soap began to fill the air and it took her back to the first time they made love. Her senses were filled with him in every way. The dark of his eyes, the soft touch of his hands, the taste of sweat on his skin… the pure male scent of him enhanced by the rich full-bodied essence of citrus and spice complete with a faint hint of musk. It was pure Ric… and purely decadent to her senses.

With every swirl of the brush against his skin, her body moved against his erotically. Watching her study every plane of his face, every curve… every slant… Ric was quickly losing himself in her. Out of pure necessity he was grateful for the moment her finger lifted his chin enough for her to complete the lathering of his neck. Maybe if he started quoting a few case laws in his head he could turn his attention away from the enticing sway of her breasts as she tended to his face. He swallowed hard against the lump in his throat.

"What's wrong, Ric? Am I doing something wrong?"

Her voice held concern so he knew she was unaware of how she was affecting him. "No." He whispered. You're fine. He swallowed again hoping to dislodge the growing lump in his throat. When she lifted her hand to complete the lathering of his face he reached and caught her wrist, holding it tighter than he intended.

"Hang on a minute."

"Why? What's wrong?"

"I need a minute."

Paying a little more attention to him rather than the task she was trying to complete, Alexis finally understood and laughed gently. "Ric Lansing. Does your highly motivated libido ever take a rest?"

"If you were a man and were sitting where I'm sitting and could see what I see… It has nothing to do with my rather insatiable need of you, Alexis. But what really fascinates me more than I could ever explain is that you don't have a clue just how beautiful and sensually enticing you are. Here you are standing there with nothing between us but a smile and you have no idea of what you're doing to me. It's taking every ounce of strength I have not to sweep you into my arms and head through that door to your bed."

Her eyes widened with surprise at the raw passion of his voice. She felt herself tremble at the intensity of his eyes on her. "You need to stop, Ric or I won't ever get this finished. And I need to finish this."

"Why don't we wait and do this another day?"

She wanted to know what it would feel like to shave him. She wanted to experience standing so close to him and forcing herself not to touch him. What she felt inside was slowly building to a frenzy and she wanted to know just how much they could take without succumbing to the desires they fanned in each other. But most of all, Alexis wanted to feel the intimacy of doing something so personal for Ric. Setting the mug on the counter, Alexis placed a hand on each of Ric's thighs and leaned in to kiss him lightly. When she pulled away, she wore a white mustache that brought a gentle laugh from him as he reached to wipe it away.

"Please let me do this, Ric. I want to do this for you."

Her eyes pleaded for his cooperation. For some reason he couldn't understand, Alexis wanted to give something back to him as much as she was trying to answer whatever question it was that prompted her to take over his daily shave. His fingers found her cheek and slowly traveled down to find a gasp of pleasure. He caressed her for a moment before reaching for her robe.

"If you are determined to see this through, then you can't stand between my legs without anything on. I can't take it." Very lovingly he covered her body hiding her away from his hungry eyes. "Okay, I think you can finish now."

"Thank you." She reached behind him and picked up his razor and turning on the tap, quickly thrust it under the running water to wet the blades then filled the basin with warm water before turning the water off. She drew a deep breath and looked up to find him staring at her. Taking her eyes away from his, she carefully lay the razor against his skin and began a downward motion. She drew it down very slowly and watched with fascination as the lather fell away taking the early morning stubble with it. Finding his eyes once more she rinsed the razor in the water and then lifted it again to begin a second stroke down his soft skin. Every time she completed a stroke her eyes found his until the razor was once again clean enough to begin another stroke. When she finished the right side and cleaned the razor once more she inspected her work to make sure that she had cleaned him thoroughly before beginning the left side of his face. Assured that all of the stubble was cleared away she lifted herself onto her toes and lay her cheek against his checking to make sure it was as smooth as she could get it. Before settling back down onto her heels she kissed his cheek and using one finger turned his face to the opposite side so she could begin the left side.

No one had ever cared for him the way Alexis cared for him. While he sat patiently allowing her to do what she needed to do, Ric watched her and remembered how they began. It was turbulent, angry at times, and occasionally playful. But, always there was something in Alexis that intrigued him. There was a mystery about her that fueled his curiosity. And there was a softness that she tried desperately to hide from the world. She was everything he expected and at the same time none of what he expected. Alexis was fire and wind, rain and summer. She was the frost of winter and the gold of fall. She was his heart, his life and the air he breathed.

Raising the razor to begin again, Alexis noticed the path of a tear through the white lather and looked up. His eyes were on her and they were full and brimming over. Her hand fell to rest on his thigh.

"What is it, Ric?"

His touch when he found the softness of her cheek was whisper soft. He touched her cheek, slipped his hand into the softness of her hair and then found the cleft of her bottom lip where his thumb rested a moment before falling to lay on the counter beside him as he shook his head no at her question.

"Nothing. I'm just sitting here loving you and it effects me. But, can I ask you a favor?"

"Yes," she whispered.

"Please hurry." He replied.

Smiling softly she again lifted the razor. "I'll do my best."

Stroke after stroke followed until there was one final remaining line of lather to remove. Swishing the razor in the now chilled water, she hesitated before taking the final stroke down his neck.

"What?" he asked.

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"For letting me clear the mask away this morning." She took a deep breath then continued. "Everyday that we spend together. I see two men. The one that appears in the courtroom, the PCPD or any number of places outside the walls of this apartment; and then I see the one that just appeared before me with just a few simple strokes of a razor. The one that I fell in love with and the one who fell in love with me! When I look across the courtroom and see you dressed up in all your courtroom clothes… it excites me that I know what is underneath all the expensive clothes and protective arrogance that you show the world. It not only excites me, but it stirs something very feral inside me and all I want to do in that one moment is…" she faltered unable to finish a thought that was so unlike her. When he tried to speak she held her fingers to his mouth to still his words.

"I'm not done yet. Lift your chin, Ric." When he did as she asked, she raised the razor once more and removed the last remaining line of lather. Laying the razor down she leaned forward and kissed the last path of the razor before looking back up at him.

"There are a lot of reasons for my inability to make a commitment in relationship type situations. But, with you… with you those reasons don't seem quite so valid anymore."

Taking his hands within her own, she turned them up and kissed each of his palms then closing them together placed their hands against her heart. Without looking up… Alexis Davis took the next step into her future with Ric Lansing.

"Would you like to move in here with Kristina and I?"


End file.
